Markita's Musings.......

Musings with my Jesus glasses on!!

Thanksgiving Four- Songs of Thanksgiving 

      We are admonished to come before God with songs of Thanksgiving, to shout joyfully to Him in song, and to bless and praise His holy name.  He is truly worthy to be praised!!  Ephesians 5:19– 21 tells us to sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord, while giving thanks to God for all things.  Having a grateful heart towards God consistently will keep us in a happy place.  It keeps God close to you, because He is enthroned in the praises of His people (Psalms 22: 3).  Maintaining this lifestyle leaves no room for unnecessary negativity in our lives.  
     Just this morning I watched a video of a guy singing a worship song.  True worship instantly takes one to a place and space in God that words cannot describe, this is rooted in our daily times of fellowship with God, in remembering his goodness. 

Have you lifted up a song of thanksgiving to the Lord?
     





“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”
Psalms 100:4-5 NKJV

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, And the great King above all gods.”
Psalms 95:1-3 NKJV

“You sit as the Holy One. The praises of Israel are your throne.”
Psalms 22:3 NCV



Thanksgiving Three

Why is giving thanks a sacrifice?

     According to the biblical old covenant expectations I can understand why giving thanks would be a sacrifice, considering it was above and beyond what was normally required. Why would lifting of a voice of thanksgiving be a sacrifice? Saying thank you doesn’t seem to be a hard thing to do especially if it’s deserved.  Then I’m reminded of how life is not always so nice to us.  How do we say thank you in the midst of illness or failure? How do you say thank you when you know certain things should not be, but it’s not in your hands? How do say thanks when you feel God has let you down? This is when you allow faith to arise, not to obtain some material possession, but lay a hold to God and find rest.  Giving thanks allows you to see the positive in a completely negative situation.  It removes you from the “why me’s?” or the “woe is me’s!”   It keeps you humble and releases peace into your situation.

When down and out do you offer God the sacrifice of thanksgiving?   

“Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].”

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 AMP

Thanksgiving Two

     As I became an adult Thanksgiving replaced Christmas as my favorite holiday.  All the delicious food won me over along with the love that goes into the preparation.  In addition, I was born two days after Thanksgiving, so that also makes it a special time of the year for me. 
     As I am studying thanksgiving from a biblical perspective, I see that giving thanks to God is very special to Him.   It pleases the Lord when we give thanks. (Psalms 69: 31) Under the old covenant God set into place a system of animal sacrifice to forgive sins and show thanksgiving. Yet at the end of the day, the earth belongs to the Lord, everything is His, so those “sacrifices” weren’t really giving Him anything.  Being that He created us with a free will, the voice of our sincere thanksgiving pleases Him because it’s not something He already has, it’s yours to give or reserve.  

Have you sincerely thanked the Lord today? 

“That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.”
PSALM 26:7 AMP

“I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please the LORD better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.”
PSALM 69:30-31 AMP

“Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High;”

PSALM 50:14 AMP

Thanksgiving One

“If you want to offer some special offering of thanks to the LORD, you must do it in a way that pleases him.”
Leviticus 22:29 NCV

“And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it of your own free will.”
Leviticus 22:29 NKJV

In this Thanksgiving season, I’m going to focus on biblical thanksgiving.   From the above scripture from two different versions, true thanksgiving seems to be above and beyond what was required of God’s people.   It was a special sacrifice specifically to express to gratitude to the Lord.   It speaks of someone truly walking in close relationship with the Lord, that they would put thought and effort into blessing the Lord, expressing gratitude. 


What are you thankful for today? How do you express your gratitude to the Lord?

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